Chairperson’s Briefing Notes

Before the debate:

1. Check that the room is fully set up and that water is available for the speakers. Make
sure that there is a lectern/music stand and that desks are available for the
adjudicators. Check who is the timekeeper allocated to your room and the
adjudicators. Write it all down.
2. Meet your teams and introduce yourself to them. Collect them 5 minutes before the
debate begins and take them to the debate room.
3. During the debate bring the audience to order and read out the following
introduction:
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this debate. The motion for debate to day is
...
The teams debating this are ______________________ , which is proposing and
_________________ , which is opposing.

Speaking for the proposition are 1st speaker _________________, 2nd speaker
__________________, 3rd speaker _____________________, the reply will be done by
__________________. Please welcome them. ...

Speaking for the opposition are …1st speaker _________________, 2nd speaker
__________________, 3rd speaker _____________________, the reply will be done by
__________________. Please welcome them. ...

The adjudicators for this debate are __________________ from _______________,

________________ from _____________ and __________________ from _______________.

Timing the debate today is _________________________ .

Speaking time for speeches is _______ minutes, the first and the last minute of
each speech is protected from points of information. After the first minute a
knock will be sounded and points of information may be offered. After the ____
minute a knock will be sounded and no further points of information may be
offered. There are no points of information during the reply speeches.

It is now my pleasure to welcome ___________ , the ________ speaker of the

proposition .......
I would now like to introduce the ___________ speaker for the opposition
_____________ …..
I now call on _______________ to give the opposition reply speech……

After the debate:

Wait for the adjudicators to hand you the mark sheets and leave. Then you may wish to
invite the audience to make any comment on the topic. As soon as the judges come back
stop any discussion and listen to the decision and comments on behalf of the panel. After
the adjudicator has finished you close the debate, saying
Ladies and gentlemen thank you for your attendance and congratulations to
both teams for the debate. I now declare this debate closed.
After the debate return the mark sheets to the organizer and take the teams back to
the central meeting space.
Well done and many thanks for your help. We hope you enjoyed the experience.

Timekeeper’s Briefing Notes

Before the debate:
Check that you have got all the necessary equipment and make sure that you know
the appropriate time set for the speeches in this debate.
During the debate:
Ring the bell according to what has been said and explained by the chairperson (see
“speaking time”), remember that speaking time for reply speeches is half the normal
time and there is no bell before the end of the speech as no points of information are
allowed.